Middle-aged player swindles 2.2m yuan from girlfriends

An ex-convict has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for swindling 2.2 million yuan ($358,820) from two women whom he was dating, Jing'an District People's Court said Sunday.

The 52-year-old defendant Yu Hua, who was charged with fraud, targeted wealthy middle-aged women whom he met through a matchmaking agency in Xuhui district, according to a court press release.

Yu tricked the women by pretending to be the manager of a high-tech company and convincing them that his business had run into financial difficulties, the court said.

One of the women, whom the court called Afang, met Yu in March 2012. Afang had recently returned to Shanghai after doing business in Africa for many years. Although she was still married, she went to the agency to find a boyfriend while her husband remained in Africa.

Yu started asking for money 10 days into their relationship, the court said. While they were out on a date, Yu told Afang that he was expecting a sum of money to be transferred to his bank account that day. He asked Afang to stop by an ATM with him so he could withdraw the money to take out an important client later.

After he checked his bank account, however, he told Afang that the money had not yet arrived, so she withdrew 4,000 yuan from her own account and handed it over. When Yu told her it wouldn't be enough, she gave him another 6,000 yuan.

The next day, Yu called Afang to ask her for another 10,000 yuan. He told her that he needed the money to take out several government officials.

Yu was apparently quite the charmer. The court said Afang gradually fell in love with him over their relationship because he often complimented her on her appearance.

Later, Yu asked Afang for 150,000 yuan that he wanted to use to set up a mahjong club.

He told her that the business would earn him 3,000 yuan a day in profit. Afang transferred 100,000 yuan to Yu's bank account and gave him another 50,000 yuan in cash.

From March to November, Yu borrowed 625,000 yuan from Afang. She eventually became suspicious about his stories and called the police on November 7.

Yu was actually dating another woman at the same time he was with Afang. The other woman, whom the court called Zhu Jia, was living alone after her children moved out.

The court said Yu took her for 1.57 million yuan with similar tricks from April to November 2012.